Digital graphic design, image editing, audio editing, and video editing applications (hereafter collectively referred to as media content editing applications or media editing applications) provide graphical designs, media artists, and other users with the necessary tools to create a variety of media content. Examples of such applications include Final Cut Pro® and iMovie®, both sold by Apple Inc. These applications give users the ability to edit, combine, transition, overlay and piece together different media content in a variety of manners to create a resulting media project. The resulting media project specifies a particular sequenced composition of any number of text, audio clips, images, or video content that is used to create a media presentation.
Various media editing applications facilitate such compositions through electronic means. Specifically, a computer or other electronic device with a processor and a computer readable storage medium executes the media content editing applications. In so doing, the computer generates a graphical interface whereby designers digitally manipulate graphical representation of the media content to produce a desired result.
One difficulty in media editing is that a user cannot easily and intuitively alter the timing of media clips in the graphical interface. For example, the user may wish to graphically specify that media content within a particular range to be played back at a particular playback speed (e.g., slow motion or accelerated motion). The user may also wish to apply other speed or timing effects (e.g., instant replay or rewind) to the particular range of media content.
Some existing media editing applications facilitate the application of speed or timing effect by providing a playback curve. A playback curve is an abstract representation of a media content that specifies the relationship between the media content and the playback time. A user can graphically manipulate the playback curve in order to adjust the playback timing of the media content. Unfortunately, such a timing adjustment is based on manipulations of an abstract representation of the media content that does not intuitively relate to the user what has happened to the media content. Worse yet, allowing direct user manipulation of the playback curve in some instances can cause unintended visual effects (such as playback speed overshoot).